MTM Digital Paid Advertising Team Manager Reno Hughes gives his insight on Meta’s recent Andromeda update.
Meta’s long-anticipated Andromeda update has officially completed its global rollout as of October 2025. Described by Meta as the next generation of its ad delivery system, Andromeda represents a fundamental re-engineering of how ads are selected, delivered and personalised across Facebook and Instagram.
The shift marks the most significant evolution since the introduction of Advantage+ campaigns in 2022. By combining deeper machine learning with faster retrieval and broader creative processing, Andromeda aims to show users more relevant ads by understanding not just who they are, but what kind of creative content they are most likely to engage with.
The implications for advertisers are clear: success on Meta will now rely less on how precisely you define your audience, and far more on how well your creative content communicates to different motivations, needs and moments.
What is Andromeda, and why does it matter?
At its core, Andromeda replaces the older “retrieval” engine, the stage in Meta’s delivery system responsible for identifying which ads to display to a particular user in real time. Previously, this process was relatively constrained, evaluating a limited set of eligible ads based on targeting inputs.
The new system is dramatically more powerful. It can process far greater volumes of ad creative data, interpret thousands of engagement and behavioural signals, and then make real-time decisions on which creative variation is most relevant to each individual user.
In simple terms, Andromeda’s intelligence doesn’t just ask who should see this ad? It now asks which ad should this person see?
This level of personalisation means advertisers can expect improved ad relevance, increased click-through rates, and stronger campaign efficiency. Early tests, including Meta’s own internal data, suggest average performance improvements of 8% to 10% when campaigns are correctly structured and supported by the right creative set.
However, these improvements are not automatic. Andromeda’s strength lies in its ability to interpret signals, and those signals are only as rich as the creative content provided.
The strategic shifts every advertiser should understand
Targeting takes a back seat
For years, Meta advertisers have relied heavily on detailed audience segmentation, splitting campaigns by interests, demographics or behaviours to maintain control over who sees each message.
Andromeda changes this dynamic. Its new architecture performs best when operating with broader audiences, using Meta’s automated systems to identify patterns that marketers can no longer realistically manage at scale.
Meta itself now recommends advertisers adopt broad targeting, use Advantage+ placements, and allow the algorithm to make its own delivery optimisations.
Lookalike audiences still matter, but in a different way. They now serve as useful signal inputs rather than hard boundaries. The algorithm can learn from a lookalike seed but will quickly expand beyond it, identifying similar users who demonstrate comparable behavioural signals.
This evolution means advertisers must become comfortable relinquishing control over granular targeting, focusing instead on the bigger picture of message relevance and creative differentiation.
Creative diversity becomes the main lever of performance
If targeting once defined success, creativity is now the true differentiator. Andromeda’s machine learning systems thrive on creative diversity.
Rather than serving a small number of similar ads, advertisers should now aim to provide a broad range of creative options, each with distinct messages, visuals, tones and calls to action. This doesn’t mean small cosmetic variations, such as a headline tweak or background colour change. It means meaningfully different ideas that represent distinct audience motivations or emotional triggers.
For example, a campaign could explore multiple themes around value, aspiration, flexibility, belonging or transformation, each expressed through different visual approaches and copy. This variety allows Andromeda to learn which creative resonates with which user segment, optimising delivery accordingly.
In this new environment, creative testing replaces audience testing as the central lever of performance improvement. Advertisers who supply a rich set of creative signals will see the algorithm reward them with more relevant placements and stronger results over time.
Campaign structure is now simpler and smarter
The days of over-engineered account structures are fading. Historically, advertisers would split budgets across multiple ad sets and campaigns to test combinations of audiences and creatives. Under Andromeda, this approach is both unnecessary and counterproductive.
Meta’s system now prefers simplified campaign structures with fewer ad sets and more creative inputs per ad set. A single campaign with one ad set and 5-10 strong creative variations can outperform a complex structure of fragmented ad sets.
With the algorithm now handling much of the segmentation and optimisation previously managed manually, advertisers can redirect their time towards creative development, conversion rate optimisation, and message refinement.
Ad volume and variety are both rewarded
Under previous versions of Meta’s delivery system, advertisers were advised to limit ad volume within an ad set, usually around six ads, to avoid performance dilution.
That limit no longer applies. Andromeda can now handle far more creative inputs simultaneously without reducing efficiency. Some advertisers are successfully running dozens of creative variations within a single ad set.
However, as mentioned, the key is meaningful variation. Simply producing more of the same will not improve performance. The system rewards breadth and distinctiveness that appeals to different emotional and rational drivers, not duplication.
This shift reinforces the importance of a systematic creative production process. Building and refreshing creative libraries on a rolling basis is now essential to sustain performance.
Performance uplift depends on strategic fundamentals
Although Andromeda’s algorithm is more capable, it cannot compensate for weak fundamentals. Campaigns with unclear propositions, inconsistent messaging, poor offers or underwhelming landing experiences will continue to struggle.
The update amplifies what already works rather than fixing what does not. Advertisers with strong creative and strategic clarity will see an improvement in efficiency, while those without it may find Andromeda exposes weaknesses faster.
Additionally, setting the right campaign objective is now even more important. Whether your goal is purchases, leads, or engagement, Andromeda will optimise strictly around that objective, so clarity and consistency are critical from the start.
The new playbook for success under Andromeda
To capitalise on the Andromeda update, advertisers should rethink their campaign planning process from the ground up:
Use broad targeting and Advantage+ placements to maximise learning potential and allow the algorithm to identify new high-value audiences.
Invest in creative diversity, ensuring your ad library includes distinct messages, tones, and visual styles.
Focus testing and optimisation on creative elements, rather than audience segments.
Refresh creative regularly, maintaining a dynamic library that evolves alongside audience behaviour and market trends.
Evaluate performance holistically, at the campaign level, rather than overanalysing individual ads.
Prioritise strategic clarity by aligning creative, offer, and conversion experience tightly around a well-defined goal.
By following these principles, advertisers can position themselves to benefit fully from the new retrieval system and its enhanced personalisation capabilities.
A shift from targeting precision to creative intelligence
Andromeda marks a philosophical turning point in Meta’s strategy. It represents a move away from human-controlled targeting precision and towards AI-driven creative intelligence.
Where advertisers once competed on who could build the best audience structure, the real competitive advantage now lies in creative understanding, knowing how to speak to multiple audience motivations through diverse and emotionally resonant campaigns.
The brands that will thrive are those that can operate at the intersection of data and creativity, delivering meaningful ideas at scale while trusting Meta’s automation to manage delivery.
As the system continues to evolve, creative diversity will remain the most reliable driver of success. In Meta’s new world, the question is no longer who do we target? But what do we say, and how many ways can we say it well?